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Posts tagged "buffalo moon"

A lot of shows were happening in the city on this particular night, and it’s a crying shame you didn't make it to Ava Luna—R&B/soul/funk/synth/industrial/disco/etcetera. Touring “Ice Levels,” their third album release made up of detached bloops, bleeps and rimshots ad nauseum, proves to make the most sense when performed. Their show was absolutely groovy.

Opening for Ava Luna were local friends Tickle Torture and Buffalo Moon. Tickle Torture (Sleeping in the Aviary's Elliott Kozel) was definitely in peak shape, popping-and-locking to his home-made dance tracks, playing up his hyper-XXX alter ego. Wearing only baby oil, ice made from a hood ornament, and tight leather pants, Kozel sang about desire, sexual frustration, and what every woman wants and needs (which incidentally he can provide.) Is he Prince's illegitimate lovechild? Word to the wise, don't pull up his Myspace page at work while your boss is looking over your shoulder.

The first time I heard Ava Luna was on a tour mix-tape put out by Sleeping in the Aviary (decorated with sparkles and potato stamps) and they were easily the best thing on the tape. Try and classify them under one genre or compare them to another band and you will probably make a categorical error, as it seems they take cues from piles of influences. Never boring, I would say that their main success is that their music actually has a soul, and on this night their shiniest moments had most to do with their vocals and harmonies—fronted by Carlos Hernandez backed by Felicia Douglass and Becca Kauffman. While performing their title track “Ice Levels” which opens with Kauffman singing the finest sung line on the album, the crowd whooped and hollered after each line she sang. There may have been some “amens.” Hernandez was no slouch either, looking like a Wonder Years character and endowed with some manly pipes, each song performed with even more groove than their recordings.

You probably missed Ava Luna, because the Entry was practically empty. My only complaint is that you should have been there.

Set highlights include “Ice Levels,” “Clips,” “No F,” “Past the Barbary” of course, with encore performance of “Eight Nine (Won't You Be Mine.)”